For Just A Moment
by Daniah Foxhunter
Summary: And maybe, maybe if she could stop time for just a moment…When Harry came home, she would still be young and beautiful. Focused on Ginny's inner conflicts and relationships with others, very mature and emotional, rather dark.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Um, okay. This is just your sort of typical "Ginny waiting for Harry" story. Just my take on it. I'm trying to make it much more centered on Ginny's relationships with her family and friends that Ginny pining about Harry. Basically, it probably won't turn into a story with a happy ending. Just, not in the way that these stories usually do. It starts off slow, and is probably going to be a fairly quiet fic, so yeah…No big explosions or anything. That's all. I hope you enjoy it! I also definitely appreciate any reviews and constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize

Chapter 1

Ginny Weasley was tired. Her days had been long and hard, like all her days, but it was beginning to wear on her in a way that was obvious to everyone. Before, even when she was dead tired inside, her eyes still sparkled and her laugh still rang out like bells. Now, the deadness inside of her had come into her eyes, making them flat and dull. She no longer sparkled, and her laughs sounded empty.

_I need more sleep_ she thought to herself. But even sleep, she knew, wasn't really going to help. Nothing could really fill the emptiness that was eating her from the inside out. She felt like a church bell, with her heart, encased in a hard shell to protect it from further damage, clanging against her skeleton, sending vibrations of loneliness through her muscles that only she could feel.

Ginny's only comfort was the boy who was dropping peacefully into sleep against her chest. His weight on her breastbone was soothing, his quiet breaths ruffling her shirtsleeve and the long tendrils of hair that had wandered over her shoulder. Ginny slid her hand over his smooth, pale forehead, running her fingers through his tousled black hair. He sighed contentedly and nuzzled her collarbone.

"Come on," Ginny murmured, "Time for bed."

"Mmmmm…" Was all she got in reply.

Ginny gently placed her hands under his arms, and lifted her son until his head lolled against her shoulder. With one arm securely under him, she carried him out of her room, and across the hallway to the small room that used to belong to Percy. It was still a rather plain room, but now with a smaller bed, children's books in place of the heavy volumes Percy had favored, and a few toys littering the floor.

Ginny lowered Sirius onto his bed. He stirred slightly until she pulled the covers up over him. Then he settled happily into his pillow. Ginny kissed him softly on the forehead before quietly making her way to the door. She left it open a tiny bit, so she could hear him in case he woke up in the middle of the night.

Ginny turned away from the door and saw her mother on the stairs coming up from the kitchen, watching her.

"Sleeping?" Molly asked.

"Yes," Ginny replied quietly, "He's finally gone down."

"He's just excited about seeing his uncles again. Once they get here, he'll be off your hands for awhile."

"Yes," Ginny said. She thought it would be very un-motherly to say, "I can't wait," and the last thing she wanted to do was give her mum solid evidence that she was an unfit mother. Ginny wouldn't have been able to stand the look on Molly's face. And Ginny loved her son more than anything in the world, but he was a handful, and having her brothers around was always a relief.

"You look tired, dear," Molly observed, looking critically up at Ginny, "You should go to bed straight away."

Ginny, still resentful of her mother's pesky nurturing, looked longingly across the hall at her soft bed, and said, with just a hint of defiance in her voice, "I think I'll have a cup of tea before I go to bed. Do you want one?"

"No, I'm exhausted. I was just coming up to see how you were doing, but now I'm off to bed."

Ginny looked at her mother, and her mother looked at her, and they both felt the same thing. The distance between them physically was just a few steps, but emotionally it was as wide as a canyon, and each was standing on a steep precipice looking at the other across that insurmountable distance. Molly smiled, turned, and headed back down the stairs towards her and Arthur's bedroom. Ginny sighed quietly to herself and followed. Molly turned away at the base of the stairs and entered her dark room without looking back and Ginny, who continued on into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Ginny sat at the table and stared at the sink. She didn't want tea, but she absent-mindedly picked up a ginger cookie from the plate in the center of the table and nibbled on it. The sugary crustiness dissolved pleasantly on her tongue.

Ginny enjoyed this time of night, despite her tiredness. It was so quiet, so still, as if the whole world had just gone to bed, and as everyone lingered in between wakefulness and sleep, time came to a standstill and she could linger in it. Ginny listened, but the only sound was the quiet crunching of the ginger cookie between her teeth. She wasn't sure why she stayed up when she knew that Sirius would be awake and ready for another day of playing at six o'clock, but the stillness of that time of night was the last shred of hope that she dared to hang on to.

She thought, maybe, in this stillness here, if she could keep it that way forever, time would stop. And nothing would happen. She would stop having to worry about the next day. Her parents would stop becoming so old so quickly. Sirius wouldn't grow another day and could stay almost a baby for awhile.

Until Harry came home. And then her parents would be so happy that they wouldn't seem so old, and if they did, it'd be in a wonderful grandparent-type way that she could accept. And Sirius could grow up with a father the rest of his life, instead of having to wake up one morning thinking that there was a man out there with his blood, who was either dead, or who just couldn't be bothered to find him. And maybe, maybe if she could stop time for just a moment…When Harry came home, she would still be young and beautiful.

Outside, an owl hooted softly, shaking Ginny from her fantasies. She looked at the half-eaten cookie in her hand, and then at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. Time had started again. The sink began to drip slowly, the trees outside rustled quietly, and Ginny sighed, almost inaudibly. With a wave of her hand, she silenced the faucet, and turned to walk back of the stairs, the half-eaten cookie still in her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : I don't own anything

Chapter 2

Ginny felt small fingers pushing at her face. There was a weight on her bed, next to her shoulder, and a soft breath on her forehead. Opening her eyes a tiny bit, Ginny saw Sirius' own emerald-green eyes staring at her.

"Mummy," He whispered loudly, his breath hot on her face, "Mummy, wake up!"

"Ghrugh," Was Ginny's very articulate response.

Sirius giggled and pushed harder on her freckled cheeks, "Mummy!" He announced, "It's time fow bweakfast!"

"Hmmm?" Ginny replied, slowly opening her eyes, beginning to comprehend the little person persistently poking at her face, "Oh…Okay, honey. I'm up. I'm up."

"Gwandma made powwidge," Sirius continued, sliding off the bed as his mother sat up, "She said it's yo' fav'wit."

"Yes, it is," Ginny looked out the window, and saw a glumly overcast sky, "Especially on cold days like this."

"Come on, Mummy!" Sirius commanded, grabbing Ginny's hand. She allowed herself to be dragged out of bed and across the cold wooden floor to her door. She just managed to slide her feet into her slippers before Sirius pulled her out the door and at break-neck pace (or at least it felt like a break-neck pace at six in the morning) down the rickety, crooked stairs.

"Good morning!" Molly said cheerfully from the stove, where there was a pot of porridge and pans of bacon and sausage cooking. Sirius climbed into his usual seat, which, feeling the weight of a small child, extended its legs a couple of feet so that he could reach the top of the table. Ginny waved her wand at the fridge, which responded by flinging open its doors and spitting out two bottles, which landed solidly on the table.

"Juice or milk today, honey?" Ginny asked.

"Juice!" Sirius demanded.

"Juice what, Sirius?" Ginny asked in a more severe voice.

"Juice, please," Sirius replied, somewhat grudgingly.

Ginny flicked her wand, and the bottle of juice tilted itself over Sirius' glass.

Ginny turned to the counter and began toasting half a loaf of bread, while Molly piled the hot food onto plates and into bowls.

"Here's breakfast!" Molly chirped as she and Ginny sat down, setting plates of food before them. Ginny chose food for Sirius, and then filled her own plate as her son began to happily dig into his breakfast.

"Did you sleep well, dear?" Molly asked.

"Well enough," Ginny managed around a mouthful of very hot porridge.

"No waking up in the middle of the night?"

Ginny took a long swig of cold milk before answering, "No." Ginny watched as her mother picked delicately at her food, wondering how much she could say before her mother would cut in and say she wasn't taking care of herself. Ginny decided for the truth, with a positive spin, "It's getting better. I don't wake up any more, but I'm still really restless."

Molly was kept from saying anything by the entrance of her husband. Arthur Weasley had changed very little, except that he was growing balder, and something about his face seemed sadder. Not that his eyes didn't light up anymore at the mention of something Muggle-related. He was as fanatical as ever, just better acquainted with life.

"Morning everyone," Arthur said as he sat next to Molly, planting an affectionate kiss on her cheek.

"Gwandpa!" Sirius cried, emerging from his porridge, which was now smeared across his mouth, "Sit wif me!"

"Sirius," Ginny said, "Grandpa likes sitting next to Grandma."

"But I want him to sit wif me!" Sirius exclaimed, pouting.

"It's all right, Ginny," Arthur cut in, before Ginny could say anything more, "I haven't gotten to spend much time with Sirius lately."

Arthur stood and moved to the other side of the table. He ticked Sirius' ribs, making the little boy squirm and shriek with laughter. Ginny smiled reluctantly. Her father still worked so hard. Even with all his older children gone, he continued diligently at the Ministry so that Ginny could stay home with her son, and so that Sirius could have everything that Ginny and her brothers never had.

"Besides," Molly said matter-of-factly from the other side of the table, "Arthur and I have been married almost forty years. I think we can spend on breakfast away from each other."

That reminded Ginny of something, "You guys have an anniversary coming up!"

"Yes, in a couple of weeks," Arthur mused, "Fortieth anniversary. That's quite a long time."

Molly and Arthur beamed at each other across the table, and the room instantly seemed lighter and more welcoming. Ginny smiled. As distant as she and her mother were, it made her happy to see her parents still in love. _At least Sirius has some example of a loving marriage_ she thought, unable to withhold her bitterness, _or any marriage at all, for that matter_.

"You guys should go on a holiday," Ginny said, "Go to the coast or something, and relax a little."

"Oh, don't be silly," Molly said dismissively, "We've never taken a holiday for our anniversary."

"Holiday?" Sirius piped up, "Aw we going someweah?"

"Not us, honey," Ginny smiled, "Grandma and Grandpa," then turning to her mother, she took up her argument again, "Yeah, but you always had seven children to watch. But now it's just me and Sirius, so it wouldn't be like leaving all of the boys behind to wreck the place."

Molly looked sternly at Ginny, "No. We've never done it before, there's no reason to start now. We're not leaving you alone with a three-year-old."

Before Ginny could stop herself, she retorted hotly, "_You_ didn't seem to mind leaving me alone before."

The whole room seemed to shrink, the warm glow that had permeated it just an instant before disappeared. Ginny sucked in her breath and looked at her mother, whose face had collapsed with hurt, and felt an awful pang of guilt stab at her stomach. Arthur sat staring at the two of them, a piece of bacon balancing on his fork. Ginny felt as though her chest had shriveled up when she saw the wounded look on her mother's face. They sat in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. The only one who was oblivious was Sirius, who was happily sliding his hands around in the grease on his plate.

"I'm – I'm sorry, Mum," Ginny stammered, "I'm sorry. I just didn't think about it. I'm stressed and I'm tired and it just slipped out. I didn't mean it."

Molly broke eye contact with her daughter, and stood up, holding her plate, "Yes you did."

Ginny grimaced as her mother turned towards the sink, mentally slapping herself. Arthur bent to retrieve his piece of bacon off the floor, and Ginny began wiping Sirius' hands, just to give herself something to do in the awkward silence that had fallen over the kitchen. She glanced nervously at her mother's back, but Molly looked as she always did when she was doing the dishes. Her back didn't tell Ginny anything about how her mother was feeling.

"Mum," Ginny said finally, "I'll do the dishes. You can go relax before you go shopping."

Molly's shoulders stiffened. She turned and gave Ginny a cold, hard look, then said, "Well, since I'm clearly a failure at motherhood, I must be a failure at washing as well."

"Mum, be reasonable-" Ginny started, but Molly held up her hand. Her lips quivered slightly, and then she rushed around the table and into her bedroom.

"Merlin!" Ginny growled, once the door had snapped shut, "I can't believe what a prat I am!"

"What's a pwat?" Sirius demanded, keen on this new word.

Ginny jumped slightly, and paused, looking at her son and gulping like a fish out of water, "Um…I didn't say prat, Sirius. I said brat. And a brat is someone who is spoiled and rude, which we don't ever want to be."

"Oh," Sirius lost interest at his mother's teachings, and was about to dive his hands into the grease on Ginny's plate, only to have it whisked away with a sweep of his mother's wand.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur said as he watched his daughter storm around the kitchen, "No matter how much time passes, you're always going to resent your mother for what she did, and she's always going to feel guilty about it."

"I don't resent her!" Ginny exclaimed. Catching the look on her father's face, she stammered, "Well…I mean – I guess I do, but…Well…It's not like I haven't tried to forgive her, but it just makes me so angry when she lectures me like that. Like I'm the irresponsible one!"

Arthur still didn't say anything, but a raised eyebrow was all Ginny needed to understand his unspoken message, and go on the defense again.

"Okay, I know getting pregnant at seventeen wasn't responsible, but…You know what I mean, dad!"

Arthur nodded, his point made, "And you are stressed and tired, and your mother was being her usual bossy self, so that made you angry, and you just said something without thinking about it. Muggles call it a…Frodian slip…Something like that."

"Seriously, though," Ginny turned and leaned against the counter, "You should take her on a holiday. Do something romantic. Sirius and I will be absolutely fine here by ourselves."

"Where do you suggest I take her?" Arthur asked, somewhat taken aback by his daughter telling him to be romantic, "London?"

"London?" Ginny laughed, "No. She goes there all the time! Go somewhere different! Like I said…I think the beach is a good idea. Just stay in a nice bed-and-breakfast, get served all day long, have someone else do the laundry, you know, instead of the other way around…"

"Hm…I'll think about it. I could use a vacation," Arthur stood up and stretched, "Well, I'm off to work. See you tonight."

He tickled his grandson, kissed his daughter on the cheek and went into the bedroom to say good-bye to Molly. As the door opened, Ginny heard the distinct sound of muffled crying, followed by a very watery, "Oh, Arthur…" before it closed again.

"Well, mister," Ginny said, looking at her son, "What do you want to do today?"

Sirius' green eyes lit up, as they always did when he contemplated the millions of things he could do for the day. He sat quietly for a moment, somewhat lost in his thoughts, and then exclaimed, "Tweasuw hunt!"

"A treasure hunt!" Ginny exclaimed, "What a wonderful idea! Should we hunt for pirate treasure?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose, "No."

"Well then what treasure do you want to hunt for?" Ginny asked, sitting down and drawing him into her lap.

"Can we hunt fow my dad?" Sirius asked, clinging to Ginny's neck.

"Oh…" Ginny paused, as her heart clanged against her rib cage, "Well, Sirius, I don't think you can hunt for people. People usually aren't treasures."

"Why not?" Sirius' brows drew together.

"Well…It's hard to explain, honey, but…You see, treasures are usually things like money or jewelry. But you can't just hide people away and then expect to find them."

Ginny could see from the look of puzzlement on Sirius' face that he wasn't catching on. Ginny frowned. How could she explain to her son that she couldn't just draw him a map to his father? That there was no X to mark the spot where he was, that she didn't even have the slightest idea where that spot might be?

"You see…Your dad is hidden somewhere, like a treasure, but only he knows where he is hidden."

"You mean he has duh tweasuw map?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, and so no one else can find him."

"Ohhhhh," Sirius nodded, "Can he find us?"

"Well, yes," Ginny said hesitantly, frowning slightly as she searched for a way to get out of this new question, "But he's probably lost the map to where we are, so he's looking for it so that he can come home."

"Oh…Well den, I _guess_ piwat tweasuw is okay," Sirius sighed, "Weah is de map?"

Ginny smiled, "I think there's one in Uncle Ron's old room in the attic."

Sirius leapt off her lap with a squeal and scampered up the stairs. Ginny closed her eyes briefly, and followed the sounds of Harry's son climbing the rickety, creaking staircase to the top of the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Characters, settings, etc. not mine, story is, yeah…You know the drill

Chapter 3

Two days later, Ginny was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and looking out one of the pane-glass windows. She was wearing a fluffy pale blue sweater, somewhat frayed at the edges, gray sweatpants, blue slippers, and clutching a cup of hot tea in her hands. It was four o'clock in the morning, but she was wide awake and waiting impatiently for the arrival of her favorite brothers.

Having Fred and George around would certainly take a load off, in more ways than one. They adored Sirius, and their boundless energy made them perfect playmates for Ginny's tempest of a son. And they were always up to something risky or mischievous, whether for business or pleasure, which would take Molly's attention away from Ginny for the duration of their visit.

Besides that, Ginny was more like her prankster twin brothers than any of the others. Like them, she was stubborn, capricious (though nowhere near as much as they), and a little foolhardy in many of her decisions. She also looked more like them, being slightly short and broad-shouldered, with a square jaw and dustings of freckles across her rounded cheeks.

Ginny jumped slightly as two people materialized in the front yard. Though she had been expecting this, she was tired enough for it to startle her. She smiled broadly as the door burst open, and Fred and George, burdened with trunks and many brightly-colored packages, tumbled in. Despite the early hour, they, like Ginny were bright-eyed and ready to go. Their twinkling brown eyes scanned the room, and fell on Ginny, who was beaming from the counter.

"Ginny!" They exclaimed, dropping their packages on the table and striding over to envelope her in their wide arms.

"Hi!" She chirped from somewhere in the folds on their voluminous robes. They laughed and released her.

"What are you doing up so early?" George asked.

"Just waiting for you to get here. Tea?" She gestured them to the table.

"Coffee, please," Fred said, sitting, "Apparition takes it's toll on you, especially at this hour."

Ginny turned and began brewing a hot pot of coffee with her wand. She felt George's eyes on her as she busied herself at the counter.

"So you're the single mother of a three-year-old, who I don't doubt was being a regular fanged frisbee last night, what with the excitement of his favorite uncles coming to visit, and you get up at four in the morning just to greet us?"

"Yeah," Ginny said with unconvincing innocence, pouring them both steaming mugs of coffee and setting them on the table, before sitting down next to George.

"Thanks," Fred said appreciatively, a keen eye on his little sister, "But we're not buying it. You never greet us and make us coffee when we come to visit."

Ginny laughed lightly. True, she was usually curled up in the warmth of her comforter at this time in the morning, and favored throwing hexes to giving hugs when someone woke her up early. She blew a little on her tea, though it was now only lukewarm.

"Mum bugging you?" George asked.

"She's always bugging me. She won't let up for even a second. I feel like she's watching me wherever I go, even when she's not here! Drives me up the bloody wall…"

"So what do you want us to do?"

Ginny scowled at her brother, though she was somewhat pleased that he had seen through her cover so quickly. Ginny had discovered that being the sort of person who doesn't hide their emotions made lots of things difficult, and a few things easy. Ginny's inability to be subtle made it easy to ask for things, because there was no point in pretending when people could read your fibs like a book, and being blunt was just so much more her style.

"Well, she and dad have an anniversary coming up, and I told them they should go on a holiday for it. I mean, they've never done that before, because when they were first married it just wasn't safe, and after that they always had seven kids to look after. And of course, they've never had the money. But Mum's still on a guilt trip about…Well, you know, and she doesn't want to leave me here alone with Sirius."

"Oh, bugger," George snorted, "You survived on your own just fine, and...,"

Ginny's face tightened, only the slightest bit, but George noticed it. His face flushed and his voice trailed off.

"You'd be fine on your own," Fred picked up, "So you want us to convince Mum to go?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, her voice flat. Then, setting down her cup, she stood, "I think I am going to go back upstairs and get a little more rest before Sirius wakes up. I'll see you later."

"All right, sleep well," Fred, knowing it was pointless to try and stop her, simply tried to keep his voice light, as though nothing had happened.

As Ginny left the room, Fred glared at his twin, who still looked abashed.

"Bloody fucking brilliant, you are," Fred hissed.

"Oh, sod off, it's four in the morning, I'm tired," George retorted, though his blush deepened considerably, "I'm going to bed."

Ginny did go back up to her room, but she didn't go to sleep. After kicking away her slippers, peeling off her sweater and her sweatpants, she climbed into bed with every intention of sleeping, but despite the warm cocoon of her comforter and the serene darkness of the pre-dawn hour, sleep would not come.

Her heart was clanging violently inside of her. Ginny fought against the wave of emotion that was plunging ferociously against her throat. She squeezed her comforter to her as hard as she could. Ginny hated crying, even alone, and she wasn't about to break down over something her idiot brother had said. She clenched her jaw as hard as she could, but was unable to resist any longer, and the wave broke through with a gasping sob and a torrent of hot, bitter tears.

Ginny buried her face in her pillow, so that her brothers wouldn't hear her, and to keep Sirius from waking up. At that moment, she hated George with every ounce of her being. There she was, waiting pleasantly with hugs and coffee for him at FOUR IN THE BLOODY MORNING, and he, being the enormous, ungrateful git that he is, had to go and ruin everything.

Thinking such horrible thoughts about her brother made Ginny cry even harder. George was immediately forgiven, though not without resentment. Ginny wept into her pillow a bit more, until her body stopped shaking, and her heart slowed down. Her sobs diminished into sniffles, and a headache erupted in between her eyes.

Groaning, Ginny slowly rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. Her room was just beginning to flush with the light of dawn. Sirius would be up in less than an hour. Ginny flung her arm to the side, grabbed hold of a pillow, and smothered her face with it, willing the darkness of night to return so that she could gain just a few more hours of sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now…Whatever…

Chapter 4

"Mummy!" Sirius' bright voice chirped from living room floor, where he and Fred were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap, or, more accurately, a game of throwing cards into the air and waiting to see which ones would burst into flames.

"Hello, darling!" Ginny smiled, swooping down to pick him up and cover his face with kisses. Sirius shrieked with delight and wriggled out of her arms, dropping onto the floor and somersaulting over to Fred to resume the game.

"Fred, is it really necessary to play with exploding cards around my son?" Ginny reprimanded, "He is only three, after all."

"Oh, he's fine, aren't you Sirius?" Fred replied. With a flick of his wrist, he sent five cards spinning across the living room. Two erupted into balls of flame before returning to their normal state and floating harmlessly back down to the carpet.

Sirius laughed, delighted, and tumbled across the room to gather up the pile of cards there. He scurried back over to his uncle, dropping them all across Fred's lap.

"Besides," Fred said, throwing some more, "You should be grateful that I've been here, watching your son while you've been upstairs sleeping."

Ginny, puzzled, looked at the clock. It read two in the afternoon.

"Merlin!" She exclaimed, "Have I been asleep that long?"

"We twied to wake you up!" Sirius exclaimed, rushing over to his mother and clambering up her legs, "But you said to go away!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," Ginny said, running her hand through Sirius' ruffled

mop of black hair, "Mummy was really tired."

"It's okay!" Sirius said, hugging her neck and kissing her cheek, "Uncle Fwed and Uncle George gave me pwestents!"

"Presents!" Ginny repeated in an excited voice, while simultaneously turning a suspicious eye on Fred, "What kind of presents?"

Sirius' eyes lit up again, "They gave me-"

"Well, Exploding Snap for one," Fred replied, interrupting Sirius and looking slightly guilty, "And, you know, just some silly stuff from the shop. Like…candy, and, um, a little miniature Hogwarts express that runs on magic."

"And this!" Sirius sprang off Ginny's lap (he had clearly already devoured all the candy) and ran into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a bright yellow box, which was shaking violently in his hands.

"Fred! You didn't get him some kind of horrible animal did you?" Ginny shrieked at her brother.

"No!" Fred exclaimed defensively, "It's harmless!"

Just then Sirius lost his already weak grip on the box, which bounded out of his hands and onto the floor. It bounced from the floor towards the window, Ginny snatching it out of mid-air just before it collided with the glass. It vibrated fiercely in her hand, so much that she couldn't read what it said. Clutching it tightly, she could just barely make out what it said across the top.

"Ever…Ever-Bouncing Rubber!" She screeched, "Fred!"

"Can we open it, Mummy?" Sirius pleaded, clinging to her knee.

Ginny leapt up off the couch, and holding the box to her chest, ran upstairs to her room, ignoring Sirius' wail of despair. She tossed it into her underwear drawer, which quieted it, but still caused the whole dresser to vibrate slightly. Ginny stormed back downstairs, furious at Fred. She knew he would never give Sirius something that might hurt him (other than exploding cards), but the idea of the havoc Sirius would wreak on the Burrow with that small ball was more than she could deal with at the moment.

"Come on, Gin," Fred said pleadingly, "It's perfectly safe."

"Oh? And how long have you been selling it? I've never seen it in your store before, and I was there just a month ago!" Ginny planted her hands on her hips and glared at Fred.

"Well…" Fred hesitated, "Technically, it's not exactly on the market yet, we haven't gotten it passed by the Dangerous Substances Committee-"

"So you bring it here to test it out on my son?" Ginny spat.

"Mummy!" Sirius cried, clearly oblivious to the argument that his mother and uncle were engaged in.

Ginny turned to look at her son, only to get an Exploding Snap card right in the face. It didn't burn her, all she got was a wave of heat, but it was enough to set her off.

"All right, Sirius, I think it's time for you to take a nap!" Ginny said, trying to control the anger in her voice. Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Ginny said, "No, don't interrupt me. You've been playing all morning and afternoon, and if you don't take a nap, you're going to be too tired to play after dinner."

Sulking, Sirius obediently put down the rest of his cards and walked past her into the kitchen. He looked longingly at his uncle, and then began climbing the stairs. Ginny glowered at her brother, who grinned at her, at then went upstairs to put Sirius to bed.

Getting Sirius to calm down was a bit of work, and eventually Ginny resorted to a very mild sleeping potion to put him to bed. She finally got him under the covers, and he smiled sweetly, if not somewhat tiredly, up at her.

"I love you, Mummy," Sirius said, reaching his small arms out to her.

"I love you too, Sirius," Ginny replied, bending down so that he could wrap his arms around her neck, and kissing his cheek.

Straightening up, Ginny raised one hand to her eye level, and slowly lowered it, dimming the lights in the room as she did. Then she turned and stole quietly out of the room. Once outside of Sirius' door, she made as much noise as she pleased storming back down the stairs to the living room.

"Ah, a vision of love and gratefulness, you are," Fred said from the floor, where he was neatly stacking the Exploding Snap cards, "Here I come, laden with presents and more than willing to take your son off your hands for a week, and this is how you treat me."

"Oh, Fred," Ginny said, all of the anger inside of her disintegrating as she collapsed on the couch, feeling miserable, "I'm sorry. It's just been so stressful lately. And you know that I could never control my tempter, and being stressed doesn't help it at all."

"Yeah," Fred said, sitting next to her and putting a comforting arm around her shoulders, "You'd think an extra eight hours of sleep would do it, but –"

Ginny swatted him gently with one hand, "Eight hours extra doesn't make up for the fact that I average about four hours of sleep a night."

"Four hours!" Fred repeated, looking down at her, "Ginny, Sirius is three now. There are no more midnight feedings. What time do you go to bed?"

"About ten or eleven, depending on how hyper Sirius is. He has more energy than any child I have ever known. It's really not natural. And even if he goes to bed at a normal time, I can't get to sleep until then. And I get up at six."

"Okay, but that's still at least seven hours of sleep, Ginny."

"Well, I still sleep so restlessly, it's hard to get _real_ sleep. So with all the time that I'm half-awake, tossing around, I think it averages out to four hours."

"Have you tried sleeping potions?" Fred asked, stroking Ginny's fiery hair.

"Yes, but the heavy ones put me so out that I can't wake up for hours, and by then Sirius is already up and being crazy, and Mum has to watch him, and it ruins her whole schedule, and…Well, I don't want her to watch Sirius..." Ginny felt slightly guilty at this admission, but Fred acknowledged it only with a slight nod, so she continued, "And the lighter ones just don't work because…I don't know. It's just all in my head, I guess, and the lighter ones aren't strong enough to counteract it."

"Poor Ginny," Fred cooed, hugging her a little closer with his arm, "You know what you should do?"

"What?" Ginny asked with a sigh. Despite all the extra hours of sleep she had, she suddenly felt very tired, and leaned her head on Fred's shoulder.

"Tomorrow night, George and I are going to a party, and – "

"Oh no, Fred," Ginny interrupted, "I know what kind of parties you guys go to, and I'm not going to go get drunk and come home a bloody mess and ruin the only image Sirius has of a parent."

"Not like that," Fred said, jostling Ginny, "George and I gave up on that about a year ago. It got to be too much, it was ruining our work, and so we stopped. And because we didn't want you to bring Sirius by one day to find us puking our guts out or running around naked or something. No. It's the annual, Let's-All-Get-Together-And-Applaud-Ourselves-Because-We're-Rich party that the Ministry Department of Commerce gives every year."

Ginny didn't say anything. Of course, as a mother, her answer was no. She didn't want to leave Sirius for a night, even if her parents could watch him. In fact, Ginny didn't ever want to leave Sirius in her parents' care. Not that she didn't trust them with a child, but because Ginny didn't want to have to depend on her parents for any reason where Sirius was concerned. But the Ginny Weasley that was still twenty-one and quite attractive and charming was clawing (rather violently) at her insides, just waiting to come out.

"It sounds boring," Ginny said, hoping for an excuse to get out of it, so she wouldn't have to think about how much she really wanted to go out somewhere, even if it was the dullest cocktail party ever.

"Of course, it'll be horrible," Fred said, "All those stuck-up pompous-asses subtly hinting at how many millions they've made without really saying it, so that they can still claim that they're too classy to mention their income. But if you're there, and George and I will be there, and we can have some fun."

Ginny made a non-committal groaning noise. She really, really wanted to go, and just get dressed up for one evening and be young and fresh again. It would be the first time since she came back to live at the Burrow that she had been out, and that was quite awhile.

"Come on, Ginny…" Fred said, jostling her again and grinning down at her, "You know you want to go out and have some fun. You don't even have to drink or anything, just being out will be good for you."

"Fred, I'm sorry, I just can't leave Sirius here alone!" Ginny said, hating herself.

Fred quickly changed tactics, "Percy'll be there.'

Before she could stop herself, Ginny sat up a little, "Percy? Really? Not that – "

"Yes, Percy, your favorite brother," Fred said, sounding bored, while inwardly grinning at Ginny's reaction.

"He's not my favorite!" Ginny protested, "You and George are! It's just…you know, he means a lot to me."

"Yes, I know," Fred smiled, "And you haven't seen him in a couple of months at least, so you'll be able to chat with him, see what he's up to, tell him how Sirius is doing…But of course, Percy isn't busy or anything…So you can do that any time."

Ginny cringed. Percy was now Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and he was a very busy man. He was always working, or traveling with the Minister on foreign business. It had been a long time since Ginny had seen the brother who, despite the fact that she had very little in common with him, and the fact that she had hated him with a passion for three years, had one of the dearest places in her heart.

"Oh…" Ginny grimaced, "Fine. I'll go."

"Excellent!" Fred hugged her, and then jumped up and began to dance around the living room in a horribly awkward way, "I can't wait! The Minister will be there, of course, and we can have all sorts of fun making the shrimp in people's cocktails attack them, and making the bartender run out of ice whenever someone asks for it, and – "

"What's going on, here?" George's appeared in the doorway.

"George!" Fred exclaimed, grabbing his twin from the doorway and twirling him around like a ballroom dancer, "Ginny's coming with us to the party tomorrow!"

"Really!" George asked, escaping from Fred's clutches and looking at her, "Gin, that's great!"

"Yeah," Ginny smiled, somewhat weakly, relieved that Fred's antics had prevented her and George from having a "making up" session, "I hope so. What am I supposed to wear?"

"Well, we're wearing custom-tailored lilac tuxes, so you can match us if you want," Fred said, stopping his maniacal dancing for a moment and looking appraisingly at Ginny, "But I did just see some lovely tangerine robes in Madame Malkin's as we were leaving-"

Ginny held up a hand to silence them, "I think I'll pass."

"But, you just said you would come!" George protested.

"No – I mean I'll pass on wearing tangerine," Ginny laughed, "I'm still coming to the party. I'll just take Sirius with me tomorrow and go shopping."

"Leave Sirius! We'll watch him until you get home!" Fred said, pulling Ginny up off the couch by both her hands and spinning around in circles.

"Fred, please, you're going to make me sick!" Ginny exclaimed, "Besides, I can't trust you two here alone with him, what with giving him ever-bouncing rubber-"

"Did you give it to him?" George, at the mention of the new product, began running around in circles in order to keep up with Fred, who was still spinning Ginny around, "How did it go over? Did he like it? Did it break anything? How high did it go?"

"Didn't get the chance," Fred cut in regretfully, "His mummy took it and hid it away."

"Ginny, you're quite the spoilsport, you know that?" George said, following Fred and Ginny's revolving progress around the room.

"Yes!" Ginny finally wrenched her hands from Fred's grip, and balanced herself against the wall, breathing hard, "But – I – Can't let you – endanger…my son."

Ginny smiled at her brothers' protests, and reminded herself to find a better hiding place for the ever-bouncing rubber before she left the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I would first like to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed my story so far. I really appreciate it! Please, if you have any questions about the story, let me know, because it really helps me in my writing to make everything more credible, etc.

A couple of people had some questions about the fic, mostly about where people are, so I'll use this chapter to answer some of them. I realize that I haven't exactly been clear about this (everything is clear in my mind, but that often doesn't translate to the page), so this is basically what's going on with Harry: At the end of her seventh year, Ginny got pregnant by Harry, just before he went off to fight the war. He killed Voldemort, and no one has seen him since. All the other Weasleys are explained in this chapter, if just briefly. I don't really want to go into exactly what each of them are doing, if they're married, and how many children they have and all of that. If it's important to the main story, I'll put it in, but otherwise, just assume that Bill has returned to Egypt to work for Gringott's, Charlie is back in Romania with the dragons, and Percy, as we know, works for the Minister of Magic. I think that's about it as far as the Weasleys go. This chapter is focused about Ginny and Hermione.

Another (slightly random) note. In this chapter, Ginny and Hermione have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Now, I'm an American, so I don't really know how they serve food in England. So when it says "Ginny stabbed viciously at her pickle," I'm just assuming that the English give you a pickle spear with your sandwich, like they do in the States. I'm sorry for the inaccuracy if they don't, and it's really a minor point, but I wanted Ginny to stab something on her plate, and if she stabbed her sandwich that would be a bit obvious, and if she stabbed parsley or something that would look stupid, so I just gave her a pickle.

Disclaimer: Not mine!

Chapter 5

"HERMIONE!" Ginny yelled at the top of her lungs, "HERMIONE GRANGER! _HER – MI- O – NE_!"

"Merlin!" Hermione exclaimed as she appeared before Ginny with a pop, "I'm here! What do you want?"

Ginny glared at Hermione, who was wrapped in a towel, with a comb in her hand that was still tangled in her ever-troublesome curls. Hermione laughed outright at Ginny, who tried very hard to maintain her scowl, but let a little smile creep in. She knew that she must look an idiot, with her face all flushed from screaming, not to mention the intense heat caused by Hermione's fireplace.

"What are you doing today?" Ginny demanded.

"Err…" Hermione grimaced as she wrenched the comb out of her hair, "I was just going to have a quiet day, really. Do some house cleaning and maybe work in the garden a bit. Why?"

"You're not working?"

"No, I've got the day off," Hermione said, turning her back on Ginny to make toast and coffee at the stove.

"Want to go shopping?"

Hermione dropped the coffee pot, which bounced about the floor for a while as she tried to pick it up while still clutching the towel to her chest. Ginny's eyes narrowed slightly. Did Hermione have to react in such an exaggerated way? It was true that Ginny hadn't been out of the house for a long time, but really, it was a little ridiculous. Hermione, sensing Ginny's irritation, scrambled about, chasing the coffee pot, and seeming to become more and more clumsy with every attempt to grasp the handle.

"Hermione, it's not like I've never seen you naked before," Ginny's laugh was stilted, "You practically lived at my house for six years or something, and in my room."

What was supposed to be teasing came out as a harsh reproach. Ginny cringed inwardly as she heard herself, but there it was and she couldn't take it back.

Hermione snatched the coffee pot off the floor and looked hard at Ginny, "What are we going shopping for? Food?"

"No, you idiot, clothes."

"Clothes," Hermione repeated flatly, "You want to go shopping for clothes? You?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied defiantly, "Is that a problem?"

"No!" Hermione turned to the stove again. Lightening her tone of voice considerably, she exclaimed, "Sounds great! What's the occasion?"

Ginny ignored the fake smile in her voice, "I'm going with Fred and George to some stupid cocktail party tonight – "

_Whoosh_. This time, the coffee pot sent a cascade of black liquid all over the floor. Hermione shrieked some incantations, waving her wand about, while simultaneously running into the next room to escape the hot coffee hissing at her bare feet. Ginny waited impatiently for Hermione to return, now feeling both irked, and a little hurt. Was she that much of a loner that Hermione, the biggest bookworm on the planet, was reacting like this?

"Sorry," Hermione said, upon return, "I guess I'll just have milk this morning. So…what cocktail party is this?"

"The Department of Commerce," Ginny replied, wrinkling her nose, "Sounds boring as hell, but Fred and George want me to come along to have some fun…And, you know, just to, well…"

"Get out of the house?" Hermione finished, smiling, "That's great!"

"Yeah…" Ginny agreed, "So do you want to come?"

"Of course!"

That was a lie, and both women knew it. Hermione hurriedly opened the fridge and stuck her head in to hide her reluctant face.

"Great," Ginny said, without enthusiasm.

"Is it just us or is everyone invited?" Hermione asked, straightening up. Her face was blank.

Ginny took "everyone" to mean Sirius, "No, just us. The twins are going to watch Sirius for the day so we can have a girl's day…and all that."

Ginny felt a pang of guilt. It had been so long since she and Hermione had had a "girl's day," something that they did religiously while they were at Hogwarts. It was always fun to get away from the boys, however much they adored them, and just spend time talking about things that weren't so _serious_ all the time. Ginny could tell Hermione was thinking along the same lines as her, from the way Hermione's lips tightened a little when she nodded.

"Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch," Ginny said to break the awkward silence, "See you then!"

And before Hermione could reply, Ginny pulled her head out of the fire. She sat for a moment, as her head stopped spinning, and looked around at the empty kitchen. Fred and George had taken Sirius out that morning, letting Ginny sleep in. Her mother was out in the garden, and her father at work. After that uncomfortable conversation with Hermione, Ginny felt very lonely. There was nothing to occupy her time with Sirius gone, and speaking with her old friend made her realize how much she missed female companionship.

_Well, you've got a son now_, Ginny reprimanded herself.

_Yes, but that doesn't mean that you can't have friends_, a voice inside her gently nudged.

"Well, I'm going out with a friend in a couple of hours, so there you go," Ginny said out loud to the empty kitchen.

_(Okay, I tried everything to show a lapse in time here, but nothing worked, so now the story is picking back up in the Leaky Cauldron)_

Hermione, Ginny noticed as she looked at the woman across from her, wasn't looking her best. She immediately felt bad for the mean thought, but it was the truth. Albeit, Hermione looked more pulled together than Ginny, but Ginny had a son and everyone knew it. Ginny knew she was nitpicking and being catty, but she couldn't help it, and she detested herself for it. Hermione looked great, albeit somewhat tired.

"How's work?" Ginny asked, to break the silence, "Busy?"

"It's exhausting," Hermione replied, setting down her drink, "We're just about to launch a new project, and it's really hard getting all the details worked out."

"What project?" Ginny didn't really care what project it was, but listening to Hermione ramble on about her work was better than sitting their in the uncomfortable silence that had dominated the past twenty minutes. Hermione worked in the Muggle Relations office, as a sort of interpreter. She had made a rather large mark early in her career by penning a Ministry handbook on how to dress like a Muggle (which regularly updated itself with the latest fashions), and now she analyzed undercover projects that the department wanted to do and explained to them how to best disguise their objectives.

"We're going to do a sweep of all the Muggle asylums in Europe."

"Asylums?" Ginny's interest was slightly peaked at this bizarre topic, "What for?"

Hermione brushed some curls out of her face, "Well, it turns out that a lot of people who were missing or we thought were dead from the war…"

Hermione's voice diminished. Ginny stirred uncomfortably as she felt her heart reverberate in her chest.

"Er…Sorry," Hermione said, "We…Um, sorry."

"It's fine, Hermione," Ginny said, trying to look reassuring and failing miserably, "Just…Tell me about it."

"Um, well," Hermione looked down at her drink and attempted to gather her thoughts, "Um, well, a lot of the people that we thought were missing, well, it turns out that they were in Muggle asylums. We do a sweep through the asylums every year, just because they occasionally pick up one of our people, but that rarely happens. But in the last couple of years, we've found more and more of the wizarding community there."

"Why?" Ginny's heart had begun to throb painfully, not with hurt, but with as much hope as she could possibly allow. Was it possible that Harry could be one of these people?

"Well, it's mostly people who survived the Death Eaters. A lot of them have been tortured into insanity, so obviously we have to take them to St. Mungo's to try and recuperate them. But we've found a lot of people who have survived the Death Eaters, or seen something horrible, or something that puts them in to a state of shock, and it takes away all their magical powers."

"That can happen?" Ginny gasped, momentarily forgetting about Harry, "I never knew that!"

"Yeah," Hermione nodded, leaning forward, "It's bizarre. And it's so sad. I saw one man, and it's no wonder that Muggles thought he was crazy. Because they just sit there and babble away about how they can do magic, and they talk about all this stuff that makes no sense to Muggles, like the Floo network and Galleon and whatever else."

"Oh, Merlin, that's terrible," Ginny frowned, "How sad. Do they get better?"

"They've got a special team of Healers over at St. Mungo's that work specifically with them. So far, only a couple have gotten better, but that's better than none."

"That's so great that you guys are going to help them," Ginny said, smiling at Hermione sincerely.

"Yeah, it's really…wonderful, in a way. It's hard."

Hermione smiled at Ginny, and for a moment, everything seemed to fit right back into place.

"But anyways, there's a lot of people like that, so we've decided to make it a continental thing, since there were people all over Europe involved in this, and we're trying to work everything out with all the different governments, and it's terribly stressful."

"Sounds like it," Ginny replied, "Ah! Food!"

A waiter was walking towards them with two plates levitated in mid-air with his wand. He lowered them to the table, refilled their drinks, winking at Hermione as he did so. Hermione blushed, but did not look displeased. Ginny felt the companionship that had been bubbling happily up inside her disintegrate as it was replaced by a hot wave of acidic jealousy. When they were in school, no one paid Hermione any attention, especially when Ginny was around. Ginny stabbed at her pickle viciously.

The two women sat in silence for a while, but this time it was less awkward, because they were eating. Ginny glanced at Hermione from the corner or her eye. True, Hermione was as bookish as ever, and her cream-colored sweater and sensible brown trousers were on the boring side for a twenty-two year-old. But she was a very beautiful woman. And unlike Ginny, who looked careworn and broken, Hermione was at least still partially whole. Hermione still had a glow to her face, a light in her smile. No wonder the waiter had ignored Ginny.

"So…" Hermione said into the silence, "How's Ron?"

Ginny looked up at Hermione, who was turning slightly crimson. She wondered how long Hermione had been waiting to ask about him.

"He's good," Ginny replied, "I talked to him just a couple weeks ago. He's working hard, of course, but he seems happy."

Hermione blinked rapidly, looking down at her plate. Ginny wished she hadn't said Ron was happy. Ron was happy with his work on the marketing team of the Chudley Cannons, but Ginny knew that his personal life was less than stellar. In fact, it was pretty much nonexistent since Hermione had broken things off with him.

"I guess he must be very busy," Hermione said, trying to keep her voice light.

"Well, yeah, but he still has time for people. I mean, you know, he appreciates hearing from me and hearing how everyone is doing and all that. He's really wrapped up in work right now, of course, since they're right in the middle of the season, but, um…" Ginny hesitated, "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you."

Ugh. Ginny wasn't sure how she felt about giving Hermione advice about love. Especially if it involved Ron.

"Oh, Ginny," Hermione sighed, setting down her fork and looking up. Her face was fully flushed now, "You know that I love your brother, right?"

Ginny felt awkward, but in a completely different way than she had for the majority of their conversation. She did know that Hermione loved Ron, but she didn't really like to think about it too much. There was only so much detail she could stand where Ron was concerned.

"Yeah…" Ginny said in a casual voice, hoping that her evasive tone wouldn't inspire Hermione to embellish any aspect of her relationship with Ron.

"Of course you do. It's just that…we're both so busy and, well, Ginny, I love your brother, but right now it just doesn't work."

Ginny quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that that was all Hermione had to say.

"Yeah, I guess I know what you mean."

Ginny looked down at her half-eaten sandwich. It was good, but she wasn't really hungry any more. She was confused about how to feel towards Hermione. If Harry was only an hour away, Ginny would get to him. She wouldn't care if she had to walk every step of the way, but she would get to him. Hermione loved Ron, and he was so close, so why did she distance herself from him? How could Hermione let all these days slip by, if she loved Ron that much?

"How's everyone else?" Hermione asked as the blush receded from her face, "Charlie, Bill, Percy?'

"Bill's better," Ginny replied, drawing herself out of her thoughts and pouncing on this more pleasant topic, "You know he had a rough time getting back to work, what with his injuries and all, but once he got to Egypt, no one cared any more, so he's good."

"Oh I'm glad," Hermione smiled, "I know it was really hard on him. And he and Fleur are still together?"

"Yeah, they're great," Ginny said, "And Charlie and Percy are working hard, as usual. Percy's going to be at the party tonight, so I can't wait to see him."

"Oh, that's great!" Hermione said, "Give everyone my best, will you?"

Ginny nodded, thinking about how strange that sounded. Before, Hermione never had to "send her best" to the Weasleys, because she was always welcome at the Burrow. But now Hermione's rare visits were awkward and drawn out. It just wasn't the same without everyone there. Without Ron to get in trouble, Fred and George to tease him, Hermione to lecture everyone, and especially without Harry to worry over. The Burrow would never be the same, even if Ron and Hermione got back together. Ginny suspected that Harry's mysterious disappearance had as much to do with their breakup as their work lives, but she never voiced this. It was too painful to bring up the fact that the same person, who had brought peace and joy to the rest of the wizarding world, had shattered every aspect of Ginny's life.

"Well we'd better get started," Ginny said, "The party starts at eight, and I have to get home to change and make sure mum and dad are set to take care of Sirius and all that."

Ginny reached into her purse and pulled out several galleons, just as Hermione did the same. They looked at each other.

"I'll get it," Ginny said, "It was my invitation. And, anyways, it's not my money, so I don't mind spending it."

"All right," Hermione agreed, completely missing Ginny's attempt at a joke.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Okay, here, finally, after many weeks, is chapter 6. I've been somewhat busy with mid-terms, and then a trip to San Antonio, but now I'm back and I can get back to work on this story!

Let's see…This chapter was REALLY HARD, because mainly all it does is introduce some new characters…I don't know, it's hard to explain, but I had to write it, so there we go. It's an important chapter in a lot of ways, but it's a bit of a mess.

Another cultural note: I know nothing about mixed drinks, so I just looked some drinks up on the internet. Fun fun!

Chapter 6

Ginny really wanted to go to the party, but she loathed the idea of going downstairs. It was just embarrassing, in more ways than one. It was most embarrassing because she was doing what she told herself she would never do: leave Sirius in her mother's care. And it was embarrassing because this was the first time in over three years that she had worn something remotely appealing. She didn't want to go downstairs and get fawned over by everyone like she was a sixteen-year-old on her first date.

And at the same time, Ginny wanted to rush to the party as fast as she could and have a wonderful time. She wanted to walk around talking to people, charming them with her intellect and her humor. She wanted to hear people tell her how beautiful she was.

So Ginny was carefully taking her time, buckling the straps on her heels, trying to resist the urge to toss her hair over one shoulder and smile flirtatiously at herself in the mirror. After buckling her left heel, Ginny straightened up, and picked a small black handbag up off of her dresser, and put a few galleons and her wand inside.

Ginny turned to her full-length mirror and took several deep breaths, summoning up her courage to go downstairs. She smoothed the skirt of her dress, swallowed, and then turned to face the door.

Before she could even move to touch the handle, however, it burst open, and a jumble of limbs, fiery red hair, and hideously ugly lilac suits toppled into her room.

"Gin!" George exclaimed, "Let's go!"

"I'm coming," Ginny replied, "I was just…touching up."

Ginny surveyed her brothers in a state of amused shock. They were wearing well-fitted tuxes in a violent shade of bright lilac, over ruffled black shirts. Seeing Ginny's wide eyes, Fred tugged at his lapels, straightened up, and asked, "How do we look?"

"Um…Well," Ginny twisted her mouth into a grimace, "Really, really bad."

"Why thanks, sis!" George grinned, clapping her on the back, "Ready to go?'

Ginny nodded and let George steer her out of the room and down the stairs. Molly, Arthur, and Sirius were sitting at the table finishing up supper. Everyone glanced up when she came into the room.

"Mummy!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping off his chair and running to Ginny, who scooped him up into her arms, "Mummy, why aw you so dwessed up?"

"Mummy's going out, remember?" Ginny said, hefting him against her hip, "So you have to be a good boy with Grandma and Grandpa, all right?'

"Of cowse!" Sirius chirruped, his emerald-green eyes dancing in a way that made Ginny sure that he had no intention of behaving well while she was gone.

"Good," Ginny said, kissing his rosy cheek, "I won't be back to tuck you in, so you have to go to bed when Grandma says."

Sirius pouted.

"Don't worry, Ginny," Arthur said from the table, "We handled the twins. We can handle anything."

"Yeah…" Ginny said, reluctantly, not taking her eyes off Sirius, "Do you have everything?"

"Ginny, it's just watching a toddler, not stocking up for the end of the world," Fred laughed.

_Well, you never know_ Ginny thought to herself.

"Okay, honey, I'm going now, all right?" Ginny asked Sirius.

"O – kay!" Sirius exclaimed. He wrapped his arms lovingly around his mother's neck, and gave her a sticky kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, sweetie," Ginny kissed him back, and then set him down. Sirius rolled himself under the table, and crawled back out on the other side, plopping himself in Arthur's lap. Arthur smiled at his daughter, but Molly, Ginny noticed, was carefully avoiding her gaze. Something shifted in Ginny's stomach.

"Well…" Ginny hesitated. She wondered briefly why no one had said anything about how she looked, before feeling ashamed that she even cared about it. This was the first time in his life that Sirius was going to be without his mother there to put him to bed, save for when he was a newborn.

"You have a good time, dear," Molly said, watching Sirius help Arthur with his potatoes, "Don't worry about a thing."

"Okay," Ginny turned and went over to her brothers, who had already put on cloaks and hats, and were fidgeting to go. Ginny picked up her own black cloak and fastened it around her throat. To add to her nervousness about Sirius, she was feeling a little hurt that no one had commented on whether she looked good or not. _I must just look bad, then_, Ginny thought, _Or just old_. An uncomfortable image swayed through her mind, of some other beautiful young woman getting all the attention at the party, while Ginny sat morosely at the bar and drowned her sorrows in a cocktail. Ginny fought of the jealousy that was nipping at her stomach. Who cared, anyways? It wasn't as though she was looking for a boyfriend.

_But even so, it's nice to know you're appreciated_.

George turned the handle of the door, and pushed it open to reveal a cool, crisp evening. The sky was just turning an inky bluish-black, dotted with sparkling stars. The trees and hills surrounding them were dark shadows against the sky. Ginny felt the cool caress of the evening breeze brush gently against her cheek.

"Good-bye," She said, turning to her parents and her son. They all smiled, her mother now avidly watching the flowers on the table sway gently in their vase.

"Do you know where to go?" George asked as he closed the door.

"Yes, George. I have apparated before," Ginny smiled, trying not to look through the windows.

"All right, we'll see you there, then," And with a whirl, Fred disappeared. George followed suit, and Ginny afterwards, disapparating with small _pop_.

-------------------------------------------

When Ginny opened her eyes again, she found herself on a small, well-lit street just off of Diagon Alley. She was standing in front of a small bookstore, which had closed down for the night. Most of the shops and restaurants on the street had darkened windows, except for a couple of pubs down at the corner, whose lights were shining onto the pavement out of large windows. Other than the sound of laughter and talk from those pubs, the street was very quiet.

Directly across from Ginny was an elegant pair of doors, above which swung a sign: The Golden Phoenix Suites. The Golden Phoenix was a very upscale, ritzy hotel favored by wizarding dignitaries and celebrities staying in London. Ginny grinned as she saw her brothers waiting for her in the lobby, being watched by a doubtful-looking concierge. A sudden chill of nerves swept over Ginny's body. She was actually going out. She was away from Sirius. Ginny thought briefly of how easy it would be to just apparate back home to the Burrow. Then, shaking herself, she ran across the street, and into the warm, well-lit room to meet the twins, her heels clicking against the floor.

"There you are!" Fred said, looking a little relieved, "Was everything fine?"

"Fred," Ginny frowned at him, "It was fine. Really."

Before Fred could reply, Ginny turned to the concierge, who looked a little more relaxed now that she had shown up, but was still regarding Fred and George (or more likely, their suits) with a measure of distaste.

"We're here for the Department of Commerce party," George told him.

"Your names, please?" The concierge asked.

"Fred, George, and Ginevra Weasley."

"Oh!" The concierge's eyes widened slightly. Gathering himself, he pointed down the hallway to his left, "It's the only door on the right down that hallway. The cloak room is on the other side."

"Cheers," Fred said.

They walked down the hallway, which was lit with flaming sconces, and found the open cloakroom door. The witch inside took their cloaks, looking, as the concierge had, rather alarmed at the twins' garish attire. Ginny smothered a smile, but Fred and George looked openly delighted.

Ginny was a little surprised when, as they turned from the cloakroom, Fred put a protective hand under her elbow. There was no one in the hall to guide her through, and Ginny strongly suspected that the party be much less than a teeming mass of uncontrollable rioters. She was distinctly unaware that she, in her well-fitted strapless black dress, was very attractive. Fred and George had managed to overlook this fact at home, but now the idea of very rich, rather creepy men seeing their younger and only sister was making them a little unsettled.

The trio walked through the opposite door. A man checked their invitations, and then courteously directed them into the room. Ginny wasn't sure what to expect, and was quite relieved when no one announced their names. She took a moment to look around.

It didn't seem as bad as Fred and George said. The room was large, and hung with swaths of creamy white cloths, which swung gently from the vaulted ceilings. The room was semi-circular, the curved wall lined with tall windows, flung open to catch the cool breeze. There were a fair number of people, including several famous wizarding figures, as well as the Minister of Magic, Rowland Honeybourne, the party's host. There were several chairs and sofas along the walls, but most people seemed to be milling about and having engaging conversations.

"It doesn't seem that bad," Ginny murmured to Fred, who had yet to release his grip on her elbow.

"Hmmm," Was all Fred managed in reply. He and George had both taken a rather defensive stance on either side of Ginny, and were busily scanning the room for potential creeps.

"Are you two okay?" Ginny asked, noticing her brothers' odd behavior. She had expected them to bounce off immediately, leaving her to find someone to talk to. Ginny had planned on an evening with Percy, who, boring though he was, would at least be someone she knew. She hoped he could introduce her to some interesting people. But now it seemed that Fred and George were permanently affixed at her sides.

"We're fine, we're just looking for…" George's voice faded, and then he nudged Ginny and gestured to the bar, "For guys like that."

Ginny glanced over and saw a middle-aged man, eyeing her with interest. A blush bloomed in her cheeks. She was simultaneously embarrassed and pleased that someone had noticed her, even if it was some bloke who was going bald and a little on the chubby side. Ginny suddenly felt a burst of confidence, accompanied by an unbidden feeling of sensuality.

"You two are adorable," She said, reaching over and detaching Fred from her arm, "But really. I don't want you to think that I can't fend for myself. I'm _your_ sister, remember? And I'm still the best bat-bogey hexer you'll ever know."

Fred looked at her reluctantly, "Just watch out. There's lots of very rich, very powerful men in here, who love to collect pretty things, and then trash them as soon as they're bored."

"It'd be best if you just stuck with us, or Percy," George added earnestly.

"Not Perce!" Fred exclaimed, "He's be all for her marrying some nasty old man, especially if he was some law-abiding prat."

"As if I could marry some old man, when I'm still waiting for…" Ginny let her voice trail off. She clenched her jaw very tightly as a vision of emerald eyes swam through her mind, causing her own brown eyes to well momentarily with tears. Turning her face, back towards the door, Ginny took a deep breath. The image of emerald eyes and the lightning-bolt scar faded.

"Why don't we first find our host," Ginny suggested as she turned back, her voice measured and calm, "And then we'll see what happens, all right?"

Fred and George looked at each other, seemed to hesitate, and then nodded.

"All right, this way," Fred said, taking Ginny's elbow, "And don't get all impudent. I'm just doing this to be polite."

They navigated their way through the crowd towards Honeybourne, who seemed deeply involved in a conversation with an elderly woman wearing gorgeous purple velvet robes and pearls. The three Weasleys waited patiently until the Minister noticed them. He looked up, jumped slightly when he saw Fred and George's clothes, and then grinned.

"The Weasleys!" He exclaimed, "Oh, how wonderful to see you!"

Ginny had never personally met the new Minister of Magic, but she liked very much what she saw of him in the paper. He was a jolly man, tall and robust, with a cheerful manner. Despite his jovial disposition, his was also a hardheaded politician with fierce integrity. Now, he shook Fred and George's hands and introduced them enthusiastically to the witch he had been talking to. Then, he turned his kind eyes on Ginny.

"And who is this lovely young woman?" He asked, his face dimpling as he smiled.

"This is our little sister – our only sister, Ginevra Weasley," George said.

Ginny winced at George's reference to her as his "little" sister. If only she felt as young as she was…

"A pleasure, Miss Weasley," Honeybourne said graciously.

Ginny extended her hand, basking in the warmth of his smile, and as she did, she saw something change in Honeybourne's eyes. It was as though he had been searching for something, and suddenly it dropped into place in his mind. His mouth opened slightly, then closed again. He took Ginny's hand, shook it, and then patted in comfortingly. His smile had changed. It was still warm, still genuine, but now sympathetic.

"You are Ginevra Weasley?" The witch in the purple robes asked, looking at Ginny critically over her spectacles.

"Yes…" Ginny suddenly felt very conspicuous. She noticed that several people nearby also appeared to be looking at her. But it was different than how they had looked at her before. Instead of admiring her for her looks, or just for being with the twins, they were analyzing her, or just smiling compassionately, with pity, like the minister. Ginny turned questioning eyes on Fred and George as she felt the heat rise in her face. They both looked rather distraught.

"Well, we're going to go get something to drink," George said, grabbing Ginny's arm, "It was lovely to see you both."

And with that, the twins turned, pulling Ginny after them towards the bar.

"What was that all about?" Ginny asked breathlessly as they emerged from the crowd.

"Two Blue Velvets and a Gang Green, please," George said to the bartender, who glanced at Ginny before turning to concoct the drinks.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry," Fred said earnestly, his warm brown eyes looking down into Ginny's, "We just didn't think what this would mean."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you realize?" Fred asked, "This is the first time anyone has heard of you

since…Well, since Harry went missing."

"What do you mean, heard of me?" Ginny was extremely confused. As far as she knew, no one had ever "heard of her" before.

"Ginny, well…You never saw this, but everyone in the wizarding world knows your name, because after Harry went missing, the papers all talked about how he left behind this beautiful young witch who was pregnant with his baby."

Ginny felt as though someone had hit her on the side of her face. She stretched a shaking hand out to the bar, to balance herself. So that's why everyone was looking at her so strangely? Because she was the "beautiful witch that Harry Potter left behind?" Ginny had no idea that her name had even come up in the papers when she was pregnant with Sirius. She had been too sick, and then too busy, to even read a paper, and certainly her family wouldn't tell her.

George handed her the Gang Green. Ginny took a sip, and found it refreshingly cool. Despite the breezy air coming in from the large windows, she had been feeling very hot. Ginny sipped the drink again.

"This isn't alcoholic, is it?" She asked, regretting that she had never had the chance to go out with friends and learn all the fun names of drinks. It seemed so trivial and stupid, but…Ginny felt a hot surge of shame rise over her. How could she regret now knowing what a Gang Green was? She had been raising her son. Her beautiful, wonderful, darling son, who was a carbon copy of Harry…Ginny was alarmed to feel tears welling up her eyes again.

"No," George answered, looking at her sadly, "Ginny, we can go home if you want."

Ginny shook herself, fighting back the tears, "Oh, this is stupid. How will it look if I go home now? Probably a million articles will come up about how brave I am, poor little me, to go out in public, and I just couldn't handle the pressure. I'm fine."

Ginny swallowed the last of her tears and took another drink of her Gang Green.

"Are you sure?" Fred asked. When Ginny nodded, he continued, "Okay. But if

you want to go home, just let us know."

Ginny felt her heart swelling with affection for her older brothers.

"I'm fine. You guys can go…talk, if you want. I think I'll stay here and just relax for a minute."

"All right…" George looked at Fred, who nodded, "Just scream or something if you need us."

Ginny laughed, and watched her brothers disappear into the crowd. She leaned against the bar and sipped her drink, watching the people around her laugh and chatter. Well, if she was worried about any kind of competition as far as looks went, there was no one there to cause her any concern. All of the women were at least in their fifties, and probably all millionaires. Most of the crowd was sufficiently older than her and the twins. Ginny grinned as she thought of what the twins were probably doing at that moment. She reminded herself to keep her ears open for any bellowing or shrieking that might occur.

"Can I buy you another?" A deep voice said, quite suddenly, in Ginny's ear.

Ginny stepped back and looked at the man to her right. It was the same man who had been eyeing her when she first came in. He was leaning sideways against the bar, leering at her, his large belly sagging over his belt. Ginny didn't say anything. It had been so long since someone had hit on her, and her snappy comebacks were a little out of practice.

"What is it? Daiquiri?" The man asked, signaling the bartender without taking his eyes of Ginny's face.

"Oh, no," Ginny replied, a little breathlessly, "A…Um…I don't know."

"Yes, sir?" The bartender asked, leaning towards the man. Ginny felt his eyes flicker towards her for the briefest moment.

"What is this young lady drinking?" He asked, his eyes still on Ginny. Ginny, in her figure-hugging dress, felt very uncomfortable as his eyes raked her form. He made her feel as though he had completely undressed her.

"A Gang Green, sir," The bartender replied.

"Oh," The man glanced at the bartender, who, Ginny noticed, was watching him with narrow eyes, though the rest of his face was perfectly polite.

"Would you like something a little stronger?" The man asked, "Maybe…A Black Russian?"

Ginny had no idea what a Black Russian was, but she felt sure that, whatever it might be, if she drank it, she would become very inebriated. Ginny suddenly felt very angry. Who the hell was this man, anyways? He hadn't even introduced himself, and he was already trying to get her drunk? Why? Because she was the girl Harry Potter left behind, and she couldn't do better than _him_?

Ginny was just reaching for her wand, intent on hexing through the ceiling, when he said, smoothly, "I'm so sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Alan Landry. I'm the vice president of the International Treaty Department. Direct advisor to Honeybourne."

"Oh," Ginny suddenly felt her mouth go dry. So this was what her brothers had wanted her to look out for, "Oh…It's very nice to meet you."

"Very nice to meet you also," Alan Landry said, stepping forward so that there were only a few inches between them. Ginny smelt alcohol on his breath, as well as sweat, and very musky cologne, "What's your name?"

Ginny considered giving her last name, but she doubted that Fred and George, or even Percy, were more powerful than this man. Her last name would have no effect on him. She doubted that any last name short of Christ would have any effect on a man like this.

"Ginny," She said.

"Ginny," Alan Landry repeated, rolling in off his tongue in a grotesque way, "Is that short for Jennifer? Or, maybe…Virginia?"

Ginny felt her drink rising in her throat. This man was disgusting. She found herself, once again, reaching for her wand, as her mind ripped through the list of hexes that she had memorized when she joined the D.A., searching for one that could knock this creep out, or maybe just castrate him.

"Miss," The bartender leaned in, interrupting Ginny's thoughts, "Miss. The man who was asking about you earlier? He's over there."

Ginny and Alan Landry both looked at the bartender questioningly. Ginny followed his pointing hand and saw, thankfully, blessedly, her older brother Percy, talking with a tall, fit-looking man.

"Percy Weasley?" Alan Landry demanded, "Why does he want to talk with her?"

"I have no idea," The bartender replied smoothly, "But he asked earlier if I had seen her. I told her I'd point him out if he came near."

"You liar," Alan Landry hissed, "You haven't spoken to her at all since she came here with those two other fellows. Who's your boss?"

"Sir, I assure, I have spoken with her."

"I'm going to get you fired, sir," Alan Landry spat, looking livid, "If you think that you can lie straight to my face. I know for a fact that you haven't talked to her at all because I've been – "

"Watching her all night?" The bartender finished. Ginny, who had been watching their volley with keen interest and a little bit of fear, was both shocked and pleased to see that the bartender's face had hardened into a look of malice and disgust. Alan Landry was left gritting his teeth as he turned a very bright shade of red. The bartender arched one eyebrow before turning to help someone else.

Without even saying good-bye, Ginny made a beeline for Percy.

"Sir, I'm afraid that I have to disagree with you on that," Percy was saying, "Only when Luxembourg agrees to give us what is our due can we allow them such freedom in the market."

"Perce," Ginny said quietly.

Percy glanced at her, and then looked again.

"Ginny!" He exclaimed.

Ginny rushed into his arms, suddenly feeling very safe and secure. Percy enveloped her, a little awkwardly, but with great affection. The man he was talking to looked taken aback, if not touched by the open display of affection.

"Mr. Weasley, is this a friend of yours?" The man asked.

"This is my younger sister - my only sister - Ginevra Weasley," Percy said, turning Ginny to face the very tall man, "Ginny, this is Hugh Southcott. He works in International Relations."

"Very nice to meet you," Ginny said, shaking his hand, this time feeling a warm glow at being addressed as a younger sister, "I'm really sorry to interrupt, but it's been so long since I've seen my brother, and we're very close."

"Yes, well, if you two have things you would like to discuss, I'll leave you to it," Hugh Southcott said courteously, "It was good to see you, Mr. Weasley. Miss Weasley, a pleasure."

Percy shook his hand, and Ginny nodded politely, and then he turned and waded into the crowd.

"Oh, Perce," Ginny said, turning back to her brother, "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Let's sit," Percy suggested, gesturing to an empty sofa. As they sat, he asked, "It has been so long, Ginny. How is Sirius?"

"He's wonderful Percy. You have to come visit some time."

"Oh, but Fred and George are much more entertaining uncles to have around, I'm sure," Percy said, looking a little discomfited.

"Well, they are fun," Ginny admitted, "But Sirius knows his story, Percy. He knows that we owe you everything."


End file.
